Lily Potter's Fifth Year
by RitaSkeeter222
Summary: Lily Potter is in for a tough year at Hogwarts, but a rewarding one? Only time will tell...This is definitely on the higher side of T, but I keep it classy. Reviews make my day.
1. Chapter 1

Lily stepped on the train, trying to swallow the silly tears. She would see her parents at Christmas, she knew, but something about saying goodbye always made her cry. Her mother, who shared her red hair and freckles, was warning Albus not to cause any trouble, while her father grinned at something James had just told him. Suddenly, she was grabbed by her friend, Madeline Jordan. "C'mon,"

She led her to their compartment, where Beth, another of Lily's friends, sat waiting and already reading.

"Lily!" she sprang up to hug her friend. Lily sat down next to Beth, who quickly returned to her book. She turned to talk to Madeline.

Madeline had a huge crush on James, now in his seventh year, and had the annoying habit of pestering her with questions about him. By the time the snack trolley had come around, Lily was thoroughly sick of discussing her brother's likes and dislikes, habits and interests. Finally, she left with the excuse that she had to go meet with the prefects, which, really, was the truth. Upon entering the prefects' compartment, she saw that Hugo was already there. She slumped down next to him, "Hey."

"I've been waiting for you, where've you been,"

"With Beth and Madeline," she rolled her eyes and looked through Hugo's recently purchased snacks.

"Well you're late."

"Sorry," Lily grinned, but Hugo didn't return it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Hugo said edgily, staring out the window. Lily knew that Hugo was already in a bad mood; he had found out that Anna had gotten a boyfriend over the summer. It was quiet.

"Oh…" Lily said. "Well, I really am sorry for making you wait-thanks, for waiting."

At this, Hugo turned and begrudgingly offered her a pumpkin pasty. He seemed to realize it wasn't Lily's fault Anna had gotten a boyfriend. "So, what've I missed?" She asked through a mouthful.

"Kaitlin Frye and Johnathan McMillan are Hufflepuff, "Dylan Zorbinach and Heidi...I forgot her last name, they're Slytherins' and Ravenclaw is Gabrielle Chang and Andrew Spicket."

"Heidi Gordon- I haven't seen Rose yet."

"She's with her boyfriend," Hugo muttered darkly.

"Oh, how is Harold?" Harold Bassinger had been Rose's boyfriend of three years, and they had reunited a little too enthusiastically at King's Cross earlier, causing her Uncle Ron to splutter and fume uselessly as Hermione held him back.

"I'm actually going to go and find Rose," Hugo stood up and started toward the head's compartment. "See you."

"Bye, "

Lily walked out of the compartment and headed happily down the hallway, almost running into Scorpius Malfoy. "Oh, um, sorry," she murmured stupidly, not daring to look at him for she felt herself blush. She pushed past him and hurried down the corridor, not looking back.

She had spent her holiday trying to convince herself that Scorpius Malfoy was not worth thinking about, being her brother's sworn enemy, but he had always been cordial toward her and she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. She sunk down into her seat, mortified at what had just happened. Just then, Albus popped his head in, followed by the rest of his body and then his friend, Robert Sparrow.

"Hello ladies," Albus grinned. He caught Madeline's eye and she blushed; both of the Potter boys were exceptionally handsome. Beth hid behind her book. Lily rolled her eyes, "what do you want, Al?"

"Nothing, just a small favor, you know, if you could not tell mum about that thing..."

Lily stared at him blankly, knowing full well he was referring to, "What thing?"

"Lils…I already told you I was sorry."

"Just go away Albus,"

Albus stood there, looking extremely pissed off, took a breath and said exasperatedly, "Christ Lily, please?"

"Fine, leave then. Nice to see you Robert."

Robert's tan face broke into a handsome smile, "you too, Lils." and then they were gone.

"Sorry," Lily smiled at her friends.

"He likes you."

"Who, Robert? Well, he was over half the summer and he never even talked to me."

"Maybe he's shy."

"I don't think so, besides, he'd never do anything, Al's his best friend."

"I suppose."

"...So, what'd you do this summer?"

Madeline launched into a long and rather boring story about her holiday, and Lily let her mind wander. She wondered what Scorpius thought of her and if he had a girlfriend and what her brothers would say and if they would tell her mother and, oh god, her father. Not only was he in Slytherin; he was two years older and he was a Malfoy.

* * *

Ginny walked back through the barrier with Harry and they apperated back to their house, alone.

"I don't like the way Robert Sparrow was looking at Lily," Harry said.

Ginny smiled, "Robert's a good kid, and Lily knows what she's doing."

"What does that mean, did she tell you something?"

"No, relax Harry, she doesn't seem all that interested to be honest."

"Oh..."

"Albus forgot his sneakscope," she sighed as she picked it up off an armchair. "Are you going to work today?"

"No, I thought I'd take off," he said, stepping closer to her,

"and why is that?"

"Because I'm really sorry I let Albus use the car." He leaned his head against hers and grabbed her hips. She had been mad at him for just over a week and he missed her.

"I'm not going to sleep with you, Harry." She slipped out of his grip. Harry's face broke into a grin, making him look seventeen instead of 37, and flopped down on the couch, "why not?"

"The only reason you even apologized is because you're…lonely."

"Lonely, am I?" He hopped back up from the couch.

"Well, it's a euphemism," Ginny said, trying not to smile. Harry was walking towards her and she backed away slowly. She hit the wall and stopped.

"I really am sorry," he whispered into her neck as he pinned her.

"Uh huh," Ginny ran her hands through his tousled hair and he propped her up on a high table, knocking over a picture frame of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"Maybe we should go upstairs." she whispered.

"Oh…alright." Harry pulled himself away rather reluctantly.

* * *

James Potter entered his usual compartment, he lay down across the seat and placed his head in Caroline Stevens' lap. He and Caroline had been together for as long as he could remember. He had met her first year, she was muggle-born and therefore completely terrified, and they had bonded instantly. She had long blonde hair, her skin was tan from the summer and she looked more grown up; she was beautiful. She was also extremely bubbly and smart, a natural leader.

She played with his hair absentmindedly, staring out the window. James closed his eyes, it felt lovely. However much he was ready to be rid of her last spring, he had missed her over the summer. Maybe this year would be better, maybe they would get along, maybe she would even put out for him…

He stared at his best friend, William, who smirked knowingly at James before returning to his book, next to him was Angela, who was biting her nails. Angela was terribly thin, had long dark hair, a pretty enough face and sat quietly. She was Caroline's best friend. On her other side was Arthur Perkins, handsome and quiet. There wasn't a lot to Arthur, but he was Will's friend and James liked him well enough.

Just then, Summer Roberts walked by, and to his surprise, James felt his neck redden and his heart leap as she glanced into their compartment and then quickly away. Summer and him had never talked before and James suddenly felt the urge to say something to her. He hopped up and walked out of the compartment, muttering about the snack trolley and followed her down the hallway. He didn't know what he was going to say…but he knew he had to say something. His path was suddenly blocked and James found himself face to face with Scorpius Malfoy.

"Shove off, Malfoy."

"I'll go where I please, Potter,"

"Just get out of my way," James pushed past him.

"Lily looks rather…enjoyable this year," he sneered. James felt a shiver of disgust run through him and froze in his tracks. He turned to face Malfoy, "I swear, if you touch her Malfoy, I'll kill you."

"Hmm, does it matter where I touch her, because-"

But James had drawn his wand and Malfoy was cut off, blocking the curse James had just shot at him. Caroline had come after him and cast a shield charm between them. "Stop it! James! James, please, just walk away.."

"Yeah, James just walk away," Malfoy mocked, and James did just that, fuming, Caroline pushing him along. Summer was gone.

* * *

Albus hummed quietly as he watched the scenery flow by out his window, he had always been a fan of muggle music, which he listened to now, blasting through his headphones. Robert, his best friend, seemed to be explaining the rules of wizard's chess to Anna, who they had met their fourth year. Anna was smart and pretty and could always tell what Albus was thinking. Next to Anna was Hugo, Albus's cousin and a fifth year who had tagged along with them when they were younger and was now one of his best friends. He was also madly in love with Anna. Hogwarts this year would definitely be interesting…The sky was growing dark; they were almost there.

They entered the Great Hall slightly wet and shivering, it was raining outside.

"Rose, I missed you!" Caroline squealed and flung her arms around Rose, who smiled and gave James a look of extreme annoyance over Caroline's shoulder. The girls had never really got on that well, but not for Caroline's lack of trying.

"James," Rose greeted, smirking.

"I need to talk to you about something." James said ominously. Rose stared at him.

"Well…"

"I'll tell you later." James said, frowning at Caroline, who was now talking to Olivia Brown, a fifth year. Rose looked puzzled. James planned to ask her about Summer, who she was close friends with. Just then, Scorpius walked past them, grinning maliciously at James.

"Watch out for Lily this year, will you?" James muttered.

His cousin rolled her eyes, "leave her alone, James."

Suddenly, Harold grabbed Rose's hips and she jumped, surprised, and turned around to kiss him. "See you," James said, and headed toward the Gryffindor tower.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Sorry it took me so long….**_

Lily walked up the stairs until she reached the fat lady. "Wrackspurt," she murmured and the fat lady swung open to reveal the cozy common room, almost completely deserted. She let out a sigh of relief, now she wouldn't have to shake Madeline off. She jogged upstairs to grab her books and headed off towards the library.

She had been at Hogwarts only two weeks and she was already overwhelmed with work. Perhaps taking six classes wasn't the best idea, but once she got into the swing of things, hopefully it would be easier.

Tonight particularly, she had hours of work ahead of her; a potions paper, a 52 inch essay on werewolves and a complex Arithmancy theory to learn before a quiz tomorrow. She plopped down her bag at an empty table, in a corner so as not to be distracted. She glanced out the window which faced the quidditch pitch and was briefly distracted by the team practicing. It was Slytherin. She spotted Malfoy instantly, with his bright blonde hair and watched him play for a bit. He looked to play just as well as James, both seekers, maybe better. It would be a good match, that much she was sure. She then pulled her eyes away from the window, remembering her homework.

She decided on doing Arithmancy first, the most complicated. And soon she was completely absorbed, lost in equations and proofs. Just as the clock struck ten, she finished and headed through the shelves to find a book or two on werewolves.

At eleven, she finished, or she was half way done with potions and could finish during Arithmancy. She was reminded just how large the castle was, the library was a good fifteen minute walk from the Gryffindor tower, twenty if you were tired and your feet ached.

"Hello." Lily jumped what seemed like a foot and turned around to find herself face to face with Scorpius Malfoy.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It's fine." Lily managed to choke out, clutching her heart. She tried to compose herself.

He was almost a head taller than her. She looked up at his handsome, pointed features and found his piercing blue eyes. He smiled down at her. "You're Lily Potter."

Lily willed herself not to say something stupid. "Yes, and you're Scorpius Malfoy." He extended a hand, and Lily put hers in his. She was surprised his hands were warm; she'd always imagined them cold.

"You ran into me on the train."

"Oh. Yeah…sorry." A blush crept up her cheeks.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I was at the library, doing homework." She said quickly. Her voice sounded high and strange. She felt her cheeks reddened deeper. There was a silence.

"Well, see you." She started to walk away.

"Wait, I'll walk you."

"Okay." Lily didn't know what to think of this.

They walked in silence for what seemed a very long time. Lily was jogging her mind, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

"So, you're in your sixth year?"

"Fifth,"

"I'm seventh,"

"Oh," Lily said politely, though she'd known how old he was for years. Silence fell again.

"I think you're in my Arithmancy class." Lily nodded. She had sat as far away as possible and avoided all eye contact. "Clayton's alright, except for the work." Ginny nodded again, not trusting herself to speak.

When they reached the fat lady, she turned abruptly, almost running straight into him again. She saw him bite back a grin.

"Well, goodbye." she said, wincing at her clumsiness, before she noticed how close he was, so close Lily's nose grazed his shoulder and she was sure he could hear her heart hammering. The thought made her blush again. She stepped back and coughed to fill the silence.

"Goodnight, Lily Potter." he smiled at her, walking backwards and around the corner. Lily let out a breath and leaned against the wall, gathering her thoughts.

* * *

James walked out of potions, bored. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Summer since the first day of school, and had been too busy with homework and quidditch to do anything about it.

"James?"

"Hey."

Caroline kissed him quickly. "I haven't seen you in like…forever."

"You saw me this morning."

"But we haven't hung out in forever."

James grinned, "What do you want to do?" he asked, lowering his voice and leaning into her.

Caroline blushed, returning the grin. "…Not that. Do you want to…sneak off to Hogsmeade?"

"I'm kind of busy, I've got quidditch tonight…"

"Fine. Angela and I are going to hang out with some kids from Ravenclaw down by the lake later…meet me if you're not too busy."

She rolled her eyes, but kissed him again before starting off. James caught her hand, stopping her. He pulled her into him and held her head to his, forcing his tongue into her mouth and grinding into her. "James," she murmured weakly, trying to push him away, but James paid no attention. He ran his tongue along her jawbone and kissed down her neck, biting at her skin playfully and stopping at the spot he knew made her crazy.

"Hang out with me tonight." he whispered into her neck.

She cleared her throat and regained her composure, "I told you, I want to wait."

James put his head against the wall and summoned all the self restraint he had not to argue about this, not again, and not here. The last thing he needed was for everyone to know he was still a virgin. "Okay." He put his hands up in surrender. She pecked him on the cheek and walked towards Angela, waiting nearby.

Someone clamped him on the back, "ready for practice tonight?" It was Will.

"Mmm."

"What's wrong with you?"

James nodded at Caroline, who was whispering something to a giggling Angela. He wondered if Caroline was telling her what had just occurred between the two of them. James was immediately annoyed and Will took notice.

"You've got to get over her mate, she's not going to do it."

"Yeah…"

"It's not healthy, you're being deprived."

"See you at quidditch." James said, taking a sudden left turn, just to get away from him.

"Think about what I'm saying." William called after him.

James had thought about it. He was trying to be a gentleman, but it wasn't even the celibate life that was bothering him, maybe it made him a little crankier, but what really got to him was Caroline herself. One second she'd be friendly and loving and the next she would be petulant and bossy. Sometimes it felt like she didn't take him seriously, he couldn't have a real conversation with her. Other times he couldn't get away from her, she could be very clingy. But on some level, he did love her and sometimes she could be so cool…but he was tired.

__________

Lily gazed out the window of her dormitory. It must have been three in the morning. She watched what looked like a hippogriff fly over the lake, its feathers shimmering in the moonlight. She should be asleep, she supposed, but she knew even if she tried, she couldn't fall asleep now. She had too much to think about. Namely, Scorpius Malfoy.

Tomorrow, first thing, was Arithmancy. Already her worst subject, but now she had to worry about Scorpius in that class too? She wondered if Scorpius was any better at proofs and theorems and all the silly ways math had wormed its way into magic. Her parents had sent her to Muggle School for a couple years, and she had always liked math there. Her favorite subject, however, had been English Literature. She still wrote poems sometimes, though she would die before admitting it to anyone…

She woke with a start, it was quarter till eight-only fifteen minutes before Arithmancy. She hopped up from the window ledge and realized she had hurt her neck sleeping against the window, along with her butt and her back. Why one of the girls hadn't wakened her, she wasn't sure. She pulled her hair back and twirled it into a ballerina bun and pulled on a white blouse, Gryffindor vest, tights and a grey skirt. Followed by her robes, as the Arithmancy room had a draft, and ran to brush her teeth and wash her face. Packing up her books, she remembered her tie and grabbed it along with an apple which had been sitting on her desk for just under a week. She had known it would come in handy. She pulled on her socks and saddle shoes and she was off, running down the stair with three minutes to spare.

She ran into the Arithmancy room, breathless and, judging by the look on Professor Clayton's face, late.

"I'm sorry Professor, I was on my way, but then I realized I forgot my books." She made up lamely. She felt her cheeks burn.

"Very well, take a seat." He gestured toward the only empty seat left, which just happened to be next to none other than Scorpius Malfoy. Lily drew herself up and took her seat, trying hard to act indifferent. She stared determinedly at Clayton.

Professor Clayton was a handsome, older man, maybe sixty five, who had worked in the department of mysteries until he was persuaded by Headmaster McGonagall to come and work at Hogwarts. He was brilliant and funny and could easily keep the attention of the class, though this was probably because he often went off on tangents far more interesting than anything to do with Arithmancy. Lily had immediately liked him, though now, as she sat next to Scorpius, she found it hard.

She wished she hadn't pulled her hair back in a bun, she felt so exposed.

"Please put all of your materials away for the quiz." Clayton instructed and with the wave of his wand, quizzes flew from a stack on his desk in front of each of them.

Lily tried to focus on the quiz, but all she could think about was the apple, sitting untouched in her back and Scorpius' knee, which stood approximately one centimeter from her own. Okay, Gorgarmiere's Law states that the force of the movement of the wizard's hand over the length of the wand subtracted by the distance…after twenty minutes, she set down her pencil, feeling much better about Arithmancy and herself in general, when she felt a slight nudge. She turned, and realized Scorpius was asking her for an answer. She flipped over her quiz and moved it so he could see.

"What is going on here?"

Lily looked up, startled, to find Professor Clayton peering down at the both of them.

"I, well…Malfoy-" Lily stuttered.

Scorpius cut in. "I'd forgotten the date, and Lily was just reminding me."

"Ah, a liar and a cheat! You've got yourself a real keeper there, Ms. Potter-" Lily flushed at this, "You see Mr. Malfoy, working in the department of mysteries, your required to learn Legilimency. And your mind doesn't match your words, I'm afraid. So tomorrow, that's the eighth I believe, both you and Ms. Potter will join me for detention. Seven o'clock. I'll take both your quizzes now, as they are."


End file.
